New ATLS Student Course Manual Released by ACS COT

Ninth Edition Manual represents latest in evidence-based care for injured patients and comes with a companion app for use by first responders in the field

NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO (October 1, 2012): The Committee on Trauma (COT) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has just released the ninth edition of its Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS®) Student Course manual. The manual is available for purchase this week at the Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons being held in Chicago. Created by the ACS COT, the ATLS program is the premier training course for the care of injured patients.

The ninth edition represents the latest in evidence-based care for the injured patient and has been updated and expanded to include the most current technical content and references, revised images and skills videos, and newly-written multiple-choice exam questions. To further enhance its educational content and visual presentation, the manual has up-to-date content including a new FAST skill station and new initial assessment scenarios, optional expanded content on heat injury, the concept of balanced resuscitation, emphasis on the pelvis as a source of blood loss, more advanced airway techniques for the difficult airway, optional expanded content on heat injury, and team training content for initial assessment of the injured patient.

This is the first edition of an ATLS manual to be released with access to an ATLS companion app–available for download at MyATLS.com, or as a stand-alone product for purchase via MyATLS.com. The mobile app further enhances the educational content and visual presentation of the printed version of the manual. The app is native to the device on which it is downloaded, so first responders do not need Internet access to use the app in the field.

The ATLS e-course is expected to be released in the coming months. Students eventually will have the option to complete the didactic portion of the course online and will be required to attend a live course, offered in both one-day and two-day formats, to perform hands-on skills.

By providing the ATLS course and maintaining its high quality, the COT offers a tool to help reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with trauma. The course teaches a set of established treatment methods using a systematic, concise approach to the early care of trauma patients. The COT suggests that health care providers participating in the ATLS Student Course reverify their status every four years to maintain their current status in the program and their knowledge of the ATLS current core content.

ATLS has become a mainstay in the trauma care community through the work of the ACS COT, which establishes guidelines for the care of injured patients. Since the program’s launch in 1980, more than one million physicians in 60 countries have taken the ATLS course, which is now widely accepted as the standard of care for initial assessment and treatment in trauma centers.

NOTE: A photo of the ATLS manual and companion app is available on request.

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About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 79,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org.